Jenna & Mark, a designer and a pastry chef, are owners of Whimsy & Spice, a Brooklyn-based bakery. Sweet Fine Day is a visual journal of two entrepreneurs juggling parenting, business, and family life in New York City.

The Mixed Race Project

I really like diners. More so if it’s still housed in a vintage railroad car. I really like how the food, no matter which diner you go to in any part of the US, is pretty much the same everywhere. You know the coffee is going to be weak, but endless refills get you caffeinated anyway and breakfast is always usually solid. I like the history of how the diner began, how it evolved, and how American it is. Often times it’s a bit like stepping back in time if you find a good one – and we did go to a good one right in Venice. A place that has regulars like all good diners should, and is oddly enough run by Europeans (maybe it’s because my cousin’s husband is a German expat, but he seems to know and frequent all the European-owned establishments in the neighborhood).

In related news, the girls have been getting keen on ordering their own food when we go out to eat. While cute, it sometimes ends up confusing because Mia has bigger eyes than her stomach and she’ll try to order all this food that I know she won’t finish, so I’ll try and intercept which just ends up as one mess of an order. Claudine, on the other hand, raises her hand like she’s in class and orders stuff that she likes and eats even if it’s not on the menu. She doesn’t quite get that the food isn’t going to come right after you order, so she’ll ask any waitress that happens to be walking by where her food is. Oy vey.

Hey Jenna! I’ve been reading your blog for a really long time and finally have a gut to say thank you for your sweet stories! I enjoy looking at your pics and reading your stories. I love how you write your stories. Your family is really cute as well! Thank you for sharing your stories with us! Aloha!

I find the difference in the way your two girls understand and order food to be so ADORABLE! I don’t blame Mia for eating with her eyes at a diner, chances are I would too! Claudine’s got such a cute expression in that last photo.

I love Cafe 50s (although I went to the West L.A. one more), but it is 50s-themed rather than from the 50s. Now, if you want a genuine older Southern California diner, try Rae’s on Pico in Santa Monica.

@tragic sandwich @kate Yeah, I knew this was 50s themed rather than truly “authentic”, but I liked the vibe of this diner and the type of clientele that ate here were regulars. That, to me, is the sign of a good diner!

On the food-menu-order-eat front, my 11 year old and I still share a meal at a restaurant. She gets to order the meal and then we get a side dish to go with. Last week, she wanted steak. I’m not complaining!